Protest after student’s suicide, teacher sacked

According to police sources, Sanjay Prasanth, (18) son of Sivakumar, (50) and Sivagami, (48) from Tirupur and a second-year student of production engineering at the college committed suicide in the bathroom of his house early on Monday. Sanjay, reportedly, took the extreme step after a part-time teacher refused to allow him into class. 

The protesting students alleged that the part-time professor Murugan, who is also the in-charge of the department, abused Sanjay after he thought that the boy had addressed him in a disrespectful way in class on July 10. 

“Sanjay was involved in a casual conversation with his friends and was calling them names, which Murugan thought was directed towards him. He immediately snatched away the boy’s ID card and asked him to bring his parents if he wanted to be allowed in to sit in class,” said a student. 

As the boy didn’t bring his parents for an entire week, he was not allowed to enter the class. Sanjay also did not reveal the incident to his parents. Police seized a suicide note; however, it didn’t have any mention of the college incident. He had just mentioned that he doesn’t wish to live in this world. 

When classes resumed on Tuesday, the students resorted to a protest in front of the college premises demanding strict action against the teacher. 

The college principal Vairam Sethuram dismissed the part-time professor and also urged other teachers not to behave in an abusive manner with students. 

While an inquiry is on, the college authorities have also sought police action against SFI cadres for instigating students to protest.